Growing up surrounded by gardeners, it was impossible not to become one myself. However, my childhood self did not always appreciate what I now consider to be relaxing activities - planting, weeding, and shelling peas were chores, plain and simple. Looking back I wish I had had a little garden space of my own - to experiment, observe, and play, without anybody ordering me around.
At Red Wagon we are nurturing our inner child by creating a garden that appeals to children (and to us!)...there is a little stone path down the middle that leads up to a big boulder for climbing on, and, as of yesterday, we have a bean teepee. We put the teepee together in less than an hour with minimal materials, and it has already generated excitement among the kids visiting our greenhouse. We planted ours with purple hyacinth beans and Irish moss on the inside, to make a comfy place to sit.

If you'd like to make a bean teepee yourself, here's how:

Take three bamboo or wooden poles (ours were 8'), and push them into the ground in a triangle. It helps to have one person on a ladder holding the poles together in the middle, with the other person positioning them in the ground. Take some twine and wrap it around the three poles at the top until they're good and sturdy. Then, using more twine, make four to six strands reaching down to the ground and secure with stakes along two of the three sides of the teepee (leave one side open so little people can go in and out). Then make a net by weaving strands of twine horizontally around the poles and twine, securing to the poles as you go. When you're finished, plant your beans around the two sides of the teepee and voila, you're done!